A digital media frame (also called a digital photo frame, a digital picture frame or a digital image display device) is a device that electronically stores and displays digital images. As used herein, the term digital image includes both digital still images and digital video images. The digital images are typically captured using digital cameras (still or video), but may also be obtained using other types of digital image sources such as scanners. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,754,271 to Edwards, entitled “Liquid Crystal Photograph,” describes a device resembling a pocket calculator which stores still pictures in a digital memory cartridge, and displays the pictures on a liquid crystal display (LCD) screen. The device includes an auto-sequencing mode which automatically changes the displayed image after a user-selectable time period, such as 5 seconds, or 5 minutes.
Digital media frames can include a modem to receive digital images over a communications network from computers or other devices, as described in commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 7,155,679 “Digital Media Frame” to Bandaru, et al., which is incorporated herein by reference. Such a digital media frame is commonly known as a “connected frame.” This patent further teaches that the connected digital media frame can include an information mode which displays news headlines, stock trading news, weather reports, and advertising received over the communications network.
Some digital media frames can receive digital images over a network from a “share group” which includes a plurality of members, as described in commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 6,509,910, entitled “Method and system for interfacing with a digital media frame network,” to Agarwal et al., which is incorporated herein by reference. This patent teaches that images provided by various sharing members can be downloaded from a network service and automatically displayed on digital media frames which communicate with the network service.
FrameChannel is an Internet service that can be used with a digital media frame having a modem which enables an Internet connection, such as a WiFi modem, that enables communication with an Internet Service Provider (ISP) via a wireless home router. A FrameChannel customer can use a home computer to access the FrameChannel website (www.framechannel.com) in order to customize the content that will be provided to their digital media frame. The customer can select from many different channels of custom content including news, traffic, weather, sports, and financial data. The customer can also use FrameChannel to receive photos from social networking or digital image sharing websites such as Facebook and Flickr, and to receive photos via E-mail and camera phone messages.
Digital media frames are often purchased as gifts for others, such as parents and grandparents. In many cases, it is desirable to pre-configure the digital media frame before giving it to the recipient, for example, with images of children and grandchildren. In many cases, the pictures can be added to the digital media frame using a removable memory. However, this requires opening the box containing the digital media frame after it is purchased, which is not desirable in most gift-giving situations. As an alternative, the removable memory can be packaged and wrapped separately from the box. However, this requires that the digital media frame include a removable memory interface, which adds cost. It also requires that the recipient know how to connect the removable memory to the interface, which may be difficult for an elderly recipient.
If the digital media frame is a connected frame, it is possible to supply content to the frame over a network. However, this normally requires that the frame be configured to interface over the network with the web site that will supply the content. In order to accomplish this, the person providing the gift must typically open the manufacturer's packaging to obtain serial numbers or codes required for device configuration. As stated earlier, this is not desirable in most gift-giving situations.
In some situations, the person viewing the connected frame does not want the device to continuously display images, either because this is thought to consume excessive power or because a continuous display may become distracting to them. However, when new images are received by the connected frame, most viewers would like to view them immediately. Unfortunately, current “connected frames” require the viewer to manually turn on the display, in order to see if any new images have been received. This is inconvenient. Furthermore, in some situations the person who provided the new images over the network to the “connected frame” would like to have a conversation related to the new images with the viewer of the connected frame. This can be difficult, however, since the person providing the images over the network is at a different location, and does not know which of the new images is currently being displayed on the connected frame.
In some situations, the person receiving the connected frame is an elderly person, who might not be knowledgeable or physically able to select the connected frame features that would be most appropriate for them. In some cases, the person providing the connected frame is best able to select these features for the recipient, but may be located in a different city or state. Furthermore, even if the person providing the connected frame travels to an elderly recipient's location in order to set the desired features and modes, the recipient may later inadvertently make inappropriate selections on the user interface of the connected frame. These selections would then override the desired settings and modes which had been set by the person who provided the connected frame.
In some situations, the desired mode for a connected frame is an auto-sequencing (e.g., “slideshow”) mode, which displays a sequence of digital images, such as still pictures, for a predetermined period of time. When new images are received by the connected frame, it is often desirable to view them in a relatively rapid sequence. For example, it might be desirable to display a new image every 10 seconds. However, such a relatively short update rate can be bothersome to some viewers of the connected frame if it is used continuously, for many hours or many days. Unfortunately, current digital media frames only allow a user to select one specific slideshow time period (e.g., 5 seconds, 10 seconds, 1 minute, or 5 minutes) to be used until it is manually changed by the viewer.
What is needed is a method for remote pre-configuration of a digital image display device, such as a digital media frame, which is purchased with the intention of giving it to a recipient, and for overcoming other limitations and disadvantages associated with the use of connected frames.